Resetting mechanism for counters



jam 9, 3942. T. J. MORHARTY 2,285,825

RESETTING MECHANISM FOR COUNTERS 2 Shee ts-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 1, 1940 I 30 a0 a2 ga vuc/n bo b THO/WAS U. Maw/emery June 9, 1 942.

RESETTING MECHANISM FOR COUNTERS T. J. MORlARTY Filed Aug. 1,

1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 @6 do I Jxwcwton THC/WAS J MO/P/A/QTY Patented June 9, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RESETTING MECHANISM FOR COUNTERS Thomas J. Moriarty, Forestville, Conn., assignor to Veeder-Boot Incorporated, Hartford, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application August 1, 1940, Serial No. 349,316

2 Claims.

means which is reliable and accurate and which is so constructed and arranged that upon a resetting operation all of the wheels will be picked up and turned or returned to correct zero posi-- tion.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements,

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken generally on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side view of one of the counter wheels with portions broken away;

Fig. 4 is a view taken centrally through the counter wheel;

Fig. 5 is a side view of one of the clutch units with portions broken away;

Fig. '6 is a sectional view through one of the clutch units; a portion of an adjacent unit and a transfer pinion being shown in broken lines;

Fig. 7 is a detail view of the mechanism for rotating the reset shaft;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view through the mechanism for rotating the reset shaft, the same being taken substantially on line 88 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view of the cams for moving the reset shaft in an endwise direction.

Referring to the drawings in detail, In designates a frame or support which may be of any suitable sort, it here being shown, more or less diagrammatically, as comprising two spaced frame plates. Supported by the frame plates for rotary movement and for limited endwise movement is a reset shaft H on which is mounted a plurality of counter wheels [2 operatively connected together so that upon a complete rotation of a wheel of a lower order a wheel of next higher order is advanced one step. Each wheel has on its periphery numerals running from zero to nine. The reset shaft II is normally urged endwise into the inoperative position shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 8 by a spring l3 interposed between one of the frame members l0 and a collar H on the reset shaft. The reset shaft has a longitudinally extending groove [5 adapted, when the reset shaft is rotated counterclockwise (Figs. 1 and 3), to pick up the usual reset pawls I6 pivotedly carried by the counter wheels l2. These pawls are normally urged against the reset shaft by springs H.

In order that the counter Wheels may be turned during the registering operation in a direction opposite to that in which they are rotated during resetting, without interference by the reset shaft, the reset shaft is provided with spaced circumferential grooves l8 which, when the reset shaft is in the inoperative position shown in Fig. 4, accommodate the reset pawls. The faces It between .the normal or larger periphery of the reset shaft and the bottoms of the grooves I8 are conical so as to form cams which will engage the reset pawls and cause them to ride out of the grooves i8 and onto the larger periphery of the shaft when the latter is moved axially to the right, reference being had to Fig. 4.

Parallel to and located at the side of the reset shaft is a rod 20 upon which is journalled a plurality of clutch units 2| respectively geared to the counter wheels. Between the successive clutch units are the usual transfer pinions 22 rotatably mounted on a rod 23. Eachclutch unit includes two rotary assemblies. One assembly comprises the usual driven or so-called. twentytoothed gear 25 and a ratchet wheel 26. The other assembly comprises the usual locking disk 21, a mutilated driving gear or two-toothed segment 28, and a pivoted pawl 29 cooperating with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 26. This latter assembly further has a gear 30, meshing with a gear 3i carried by the associated counter wheel l2. The pawls 29 are urged into engagement with the ratchet wheel 26 by springs 29'. The driven gear 25 of the first clutch unit, namely, the right-hand one, referring to Fig. 2, is connected to any suitable driving mechanism. the same being here diagrammatically shown as comprising a driving gear 32.

i The transfer pinions 22 through which a carrying movement is transferred from a unit of lower order to one of higher order upon each complete revolution of a unit of lower order are of the usual construction. The same has alternate long and short teeth. All of the teeth mesh with a driven gear 25 of higher order, and only the long teeth cooperate with the mutilated gear 28 of lower order. The long teeth also cooperate with the locking disk 2'! so as to prevent rotation of the transfer pinions except when the same are rotated by the mutilated gears.

In order that each of the clutch units may be looked during a registering operation so that a proper transfer is effected between successive wheels and in order that the units may be unlocked during the resetting operation so that the wheels may be rotated to zero in a direction opposite to that in which they are rotated during a registering operation, each unit is provided with a locking pawl 35 which is moved into and out of locking position with respect to the pawl 29 by moving the rod 20 axially a limited amount. Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, it will be noted that the locking pawl 35 is pivoted as at 36 to the assembly which includes the locking disk 21 and the mutilated gear 28. This pawl 35 is normally urged into the locking position shown in Fig. 5 by a spring 31. The rod 20, which, as previously stated, has a limited axial movement, is provided with grooves 40 which are adapted to respectively register with and receive the locking pawls 35 whenthe parts are in the normal position during which a registering operation may be effected. The right-hand walls or faces 4| of these grooves are beveled so as to provide cams which will cause the locking pawls 35 to be cammed outwardly to non-locking positions when the rod 20 is moved to the left (Fig. 6) preliminary to resetting the counter wheels. The rod 20 is moved in one direction while the shaft 1 I is moving in the other direction through a lever 45 which is pivoted to a frame member III as at 46. The upper end of this lever has a pin 41 engaging in a groove 48 in the left-hand end of the shaft II. The lower end of the lever has an elongated slot 49 in which engages a pin 50 carried by the rod 20.

The reset shaft l I and the rod 20 are shown in inoperative positions in Figs. 4 and 6. In these positions, the pawls 16 of the counter wheels register with the grooves l8 of the reset shaft, and the locking pawls 35 are in looking position, the same being engaged in the grooves 40 in the rod 20. This is the condition of the parts during a registering operation. As hereinafter described more in detail, before the shaft I I is turned during a resetting operation, it is moved to the rightv so that the reset pawls may be engaged with the reset groove of the reset shaft, and the rod- 20 is moved to the left so as to cam the locking levers 35 of the clutch units to non-locking position with respect to the pawls 28. Thereafter, upon rotation of the reset shaft, the reset groove picks up all of the reset pawls, thereby turning the counter wheels to zero, and, during this time, the assemblies of the clutch units which carry the pawls 29 are rotated through the gears 3| and 30 while the assemblies of the clutch units which include the ratchet wheels 26 remain stationary. After the wheels have been rotated to zero position, the shaft H and the rod 20 are moved back to their inoperative positions shown in Figs. 2 and 6, inclusive.

Referring now to the reset driving mechanism shown most clearly in Figs. 1, '7, and 8, the same includes a driven gear 60 fixed to the reset shaft II and having an arcuate cut-away portion or looking recess 6|. Journalled on the reset shaft between the driven gear 60 and a collar 62 is the cam gear 63, the periphery of which is interrupted by four arcuate locking recesses 64. On the opposing faces of the gears 60 and 63 are cams 65 and 86, respectively, which are so constructed and arranged that when the gear 63 has been turned to a predetermined position the cams will engage to cause the reset shaft to move axially to operative position. These cams are diagrammatically shown in Fig. 9.

The numeral 10 designates an operating shaft .which, if desired, may be employed to perform other functions than that of effecting a resetting operation. One end of this shaft is adapted to receive an operating handle or crank ll. Fixed to the operating shaft 10, as by means of a pin 12, is a reset driving and control member 13 which includes a segment gear 14 adapted to mesh with the reset driven gear 60. It also includes a gear segment 15 adapted to mesh with the teeth of the cam gear 63. The teeth of the gear segment I5 are formed on the periphery of a locking flange 16, the periphery of which is adapted to engage in the arcuate recesses 64 of the cam gear 63. The reset driving and control member 13 is further provided with a locking disk I1 interposed between the gear segments 14 and 15. The looking disk has on its outer face and at its periphery a slight rib 19 disposed generally oppositely to the gear segment 14. The forward end of the rib is curved inwardly as at 19' and terminates short of the rear end of the gear segment 14. The periph.. ery of this locking disk 11 is adapted to engage in the arcuate recess 6| of the driven reset gear 60. The locking recess BI and the major portion of the periphery of the locking disk 11 are of substantially like radii. However, the locking disk 11 has a smaller portion 18 of slightly lesser radius than that of the locking recess iii in order to permit of a slight rotation of the reset shaft in a direction opposite to that in which it is rotated during a resetting operation. The purpose of this is to insure that upon the next resetting operation the reset groove of the reset shaft will be in a position to pick up all of the reset pawls of the several counter wheels. In order to effect such a reverse rotation of the reset shaft when the portion "is engaged in the recess 6|, a spring is provided. This spring at one end is anchored to a stud 8| carried by a frame member Ill. The other end of the spring is connected to a link 82 which, in turn, is eccentrically connected to the driven gear 60 by a pin 83.

The arrangement described operates, briefly, as follows: Starting with the parts in the position shown in the drawings, it will be seen that the mechanism is in condition for a registering operation. Assuming that the registering operation has been carried out with the reset operating crank ll remaining in the position shown in Fig. 1, and it is desired to reset the counter wheels, the reset handle or crank II is rotated clockwise two complete revolutions. During rotation of the handle from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 7, the resetting operation is not effected because the gears 60 and 14 are disengaged. On continued rotation, however, from the position shown in Fig. 7, the gear segment 15 will rotate the cam gear 63 one-fourth of a revolution, with the result that the cams 65 and 66 on the gears 60 and 63 cooperate to cam the gear 60 and the reset shaft II in a direction to bring the teeth of the gear 60 into the plane of the gear 14, and during this time the locking disk 11 engages in the arcuate recess 6| so as to prevent rotation of the driven reset gear 60. At about the time that the forward end of the segment gear 14 meshes with the driven reset gear 60, the locking disk 11 engages behind the rear face of the gear 60 so that the spring I: cannot move the gear back to its normal position. On further continued rotation of the reset handle, the gear 14 rotates the driven reset gear 50 and the reset shaft slightly more than 360 so as to bring the wheels to zero.

At the time that the wheels are brought to zero, the gear segment I4 leaves the gear 80, and the forward end 19' of the rib I9 engages in the recess 6! so as to bring that recess into concentricity with the locking disk I1, whereupon the recess receives the locking disk and the spring l3 moves the reset shaft and the driven gear back to the position shown in Fig. 8. This occurs when the handle II is approximately in the dotted line position of Fig. 7. On continued rotation of the handle from the dotted line position shown in Fig. 7 to the initial full line position shown in Fig. 1, the cam gear 63 is moved one-fourth of a revolution.

It is important to note that the arrangement is such that the reset shaft is reversely turned through a given angle before the shaft is turned in a direction to reset the wheels. This is of importance to insure that the reset pawls of all of the wheels will be picked up by the reset shaft and all of the wheels are thereby returned to zero irrespective of what the positions of the wheels may be at the end of the registering operation. As stated, the radius of the reduced portion 18 of the locking disk 11 is somewhat less than the radius of the locking recess 6| of the reset driven gear 60. Therefore, when the locking disk is turned to the position shown in Fig. '7, where the recess 6| receives this reduced portion 18, there is sufiicient clearance between the locking disk and gear 60 to permit the spring 80 to turn the gear 60 and the reset shaft in a reverse direction through a given angle. Then, on further rotation or the driving and control member 13, the reset shaft will be driven in a resetting direction through said, given angle plus 360. This arrangement is a very simple and effective one.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a counter, a reset shaft having a reset groove, a plurality of denominational order elements rotatable thereon and provided with pawls adapted to cooperate with said groove when the shaft is rotated in a resetting direction, a reset driven gear fixed to said shaft and having a looking recess, a driving member having a gear segment adapted to mesh with said driven gear and a locking disk adapted to engage in said recess, said locking disk having a portion of reduced diameter engaging in said recess, and a spring for reversely moving said driven gear and reset shaft a limited amount when said reduced portion engages in said recess.

2. In a, counter, an endwise movable reset shaft having an interrupted longitudinally extending reset groove, a plurality of denominational order elements rotatably mounted on said shaft and provided with pawls adapted to engage said groove when said shaft is in an endwise operative position, a driven gear fixed to said shaft and having a locking recess in its periphery, a cam gear loose on said shaft for moving said shaft longitudinally to operative position, a driving and control member having a mutilated gear adapted to cooperate with said cam gear and a gear segment adapted to cooperate with said driven gear, said member also having a locking disk the periphery of which is engageable in said recess. said disk having a portion of reduced diameter I engageable in said recess so as to permit a limited reverse rotation of said driven gear and reset shaft, and a spring anchored at one end and eccentrically connected to said driven gear at the other end for reversely moving said gear and reset shaft when said reduced portion is engaged in said recess.

THOMAS J. MORIARTY. 

